Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 117,109 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $84,670,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,252,863,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
Applied Materials News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
- Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
- Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
- Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
Insider Activity at Applied Materials
Applied Materials Stock Performance
Shares of AMAT stock opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $550.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $456.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $657.76.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Applied Materials
Applied Materials Profile
Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.
Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.
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